CNLA COVID-19 Updates for May 19, 2020 - Today's Breaking News provided links for the most up to date information - bclna
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
CNLA COVID-19 Updates for May 19, 2020
Please note that this information is changing almost daily and check the
provided links for the most up to date information
Today’s Breaking News
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy extended to beyond June,
2020
The government announced that the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) will be
extended by an additional 12 weeks to August 29, 2020. They will continue consulting with
key business and labour representatives over the next month on potential adjustments to the
program, including the 30% revenue decline threshold. They hope you take confidence in this
extended measure and keep your employees on payroll. They’re going to continue being
there for you every step of the way through this crisis.
Trudeau also announced a new Industry Strategy Council, led by the Minister of Innovation,
Science and Technology, Navdeep Bains and chaired by Monique Leroux, that has been
tasked with studying the effects of COVID-19 on specific sectors in Canada. CNLA has
reached out to see if we could participate in this council and have been advised that we have
been noted as expressing our interest. This is at the very beginning stages and they will
provide more information in the coming weeks.
Canada Emergency Business Account Expansion to include Owner-
Operated small Businesses
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced an expansion to the eligibility criteria for the
Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to include many owner-operated small businesses.
The program will now be available to a greater number of businesses that are sole proprietors
receiving income directly from their businesses, businesses that rely on contractors, and family-
owned corporations that pay employees through dividends rather than payroll.
To qualify under the expanded eligibility criteria, applicants with payroll lower than $20,000 would
need:
• a business operating account at a participating financial institution
• a Canada Revenue Agency business number, and to have filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return.
• eligible non-deferrable expenses between $40,000 and $1.5 million. Eligible non-deferrable
expenses could include costs such as rent, property taxes, utilities, and insurance.
Expenses will be subject to verification and audit by the Government of Canada. Funding will be
delivered in partnership with financial institutions. More details, including the launch date for
applications under the new criteria, will follow in the days to come. The government will continue to
work on solutions to help business owners and entrepreneurs who operate through their personal
bank account, as opposed to a business account, or have yet to file a tax return, such as newly
created businesses.
Temporary Foreign WorkersThe Mandatory Isolation Support for Temporary Foreign Workers Program (MISTFWP) is a one-time $50-million program to help with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food supply in Canada by assisting the farming, fish harvesting, and food production and processing sectors. The program will assist Canadian employers with some of the incremental costs associated with the mandatory 14-day isolation period imposed under the Quarantine Act on temporary foreign workers upon entering Canada. The $1500 Mandatory Isolation Support for TFW's is now open for application You need to apply by June 30, 2020. http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/agricultural-programs-and- services/mandatory-isolation-support-for-temporary-foreign-workers-program/?id=1588186409721 Canadian Payroll Association: To help ALL businesses access, understand and navigate all of the changes, CPA has compiled a summary of the most frequently asked questions related to COVID-19 legislation from Payroll InfoLine. Once again, Canadian Payroll Association is generously sharing free access to their important FAQ resource with your association and your members, regardless of whether they are CPA members or not. Once your members complete a very short form and press download, they will gain instant access to both the FAQ document, as well as supplementary resources. The CEWS summary and calculator is one of these supplementary resources and can be found under the Payroll Tools, Checklists & Calculators tab, where there is a specific COVID-19 Related Resources tab. Simply click on this link for the FAQ English : CLICK HERE and for French: CLICK HERE FAQ on CEWS: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue- agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy/cews-frequently-asked- questions.html CEWS Calculator: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue- agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy/cews-calculate-subsidy-amount.html Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) Update: The CEWS will open for application on Monday April 27. There have been some concerns raised by members and CNLA addressed these on a call today with the Canadian Payroll Association and Judith Andrew, Commissioner of Firms for Employment Insurance. During this call, the large group of employer groups in Canada were able to receive clarity on several issues. According to the call and the additional clarity provided on the minister’s roundtable, owners and family are eligible for CEWS if they were employees paid by payroll prior to March 15th. They further confirmed, that there are some errors on the calculator and they are being addressed by the CRA. The issue still remains on compensation outside the boundaries of typical payroll. Commissions and sales are part of the calculation and will be supported under the CEWS up to the maximum weekly subsidy per employee.
Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced that the federal government has reached an agreement in principle with all provinces and territories to implement the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses. This program will lower rent by 75 per cent for small businesses that have been affected by COVID-19. The government is also providing further details on the program: · The program will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50 per cent of three-monthly rent payments that are payable by eligible small business tenants who are experiencing financial hardship during April, May, and June. · The loans will be forgiven if the mortgaged property owner agrees to reduce the eligible small business tenants’ rent by at least 75 per cent for the three corresponding months under a rent forgiveness agreement, which will include a term not to evict the tenant while the agreement is in place. The small business tenant would cover the remainder, up to 25 per cent of the rent. · Impacted small business tenants are businesses paying less than $50,000 per month in rent and who have temporarily ceased operations or have experienced at least a 70 per cent drop in pre- COVID-19 revenues. This support will also be available to non-profit and charitable organizations. The government continues to assess and respond to the impacts of COVID-19 and stands ready to take additional actions as needed to stabilize the economy and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. WHERE TO START: Whether you are self-employed, a small business owner, or an entrepreneur – you shouldn’t have to worry about having to lose your business or your job. To get the help you need: 1. Visit our government’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan website for information about supporting your employees and your business. It is constantly updated as the COVID-19 crisis evolves. 2. Contact your local financial institution. Since we know most small businesses have a relationship with their local financial institution already, we’ve worked with the financial sector to increase their lending capability to support you in in this challenging time. They are a good first place to start for help. 3. Consult the Canadian Business Resilience Network and Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s pandemic preparedness guide to help prepare you business in the days and weeks to come. Agri-Programs Update: AgriStability - The deadline to apply for AgriStability this year has just been extended without penalty from April 30 to July 3, 2020. See the media release from AAFC here
The Advanced Payment Program is now available for nursery crops in AB, SK and MB. The
AgriCommodity Management Association has application forms ready to go. Please see attached
letter for details. LANTA will be hosting a webinar for Q&A's on April 28th 10:30am MST. To
register: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/10/7vpr6ir
New Actions to Protect Canadian Jobs:
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, Friday announced new actions to protect Canadian jobs and
provide more support to businesses and organizations dealing with the economic impacts of COVID-
19. The Government of Canada will provide over $1.7 billion for targeted measures, including:
· $675 million to give financing support to small and medium-sized businesses that are
unable to access the government’s existing COVID-19 support measures, through Canada’s
Regional Development Agencies.
· $287 million to support rural businesses and communities, including by providing them
with much-needed access to capital through the Community Futures Network.
Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) Update
CEBA provides much needed credit for small businesses to pay for immediate operating costs such
as payroll, rent, utilities, insurance, property tax, or debt service. It is 100 per cent funded by the
Government of Canada.
• NEW!! - It is available to Canadian employers with $20,000 to $1.5 million in total
payroll in 2019, and operating as of March 1, 2020. This includes smaller (i.e.,
micro) businesses and other eligible employers such as not-for-profits. (This new
range will replace the previous one of between $50,000 and $1 million, and will help address
the challenges faced by small businesses to cover non-deferrable operating costs.)
• Under CEBA, financial institutions will be able to provide interest-free credit facilities of up to
$40,000 to eligible businesses.
• If the loan is repaid by December 31, 2022, 25 per cent (up to $10,000) will be forgiven.
• If the loan is not repaid by December 31, 2022, the remaining balance will be converted to a
three-year term loan at 5 per cent interest.
This program is now available at various financial institutions and credit unions.
3 Key Steps to take NOW!
Get setup on CRA My Business account if you aren’t already.
Get setup on direct deposit, if you aren’t already.
Get your accounting current and keep it current, will need real time info to evaluate
eligibilityFinancial Links The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidyhttps://www.canada.ca/en/department- finance/news/2020/04/the-canada-emergency-wage-subsidy.html How to apply https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application.html FAQs on the Canada Emergency Response Benefit https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application/questions.html Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/04/minister-morneau-and-minister-ng- mark-the-launch-of-the-canada-emergency-business-account.html Temporary Wage Subsidy https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/covid-19- update/frequently-asked-questions-wage-subsidy-small-businesses.html Resources for Canadian Business - Trade Commissioner Service: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/business/maintaingrowimprovebusiness/resources-for- canadian-businesses.html Employment and Social Development Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/corporate/notices/coronavirus.html Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html Supports for small businesses: http://canada.ca/covid-19-business. AgriInvest: http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/agricultural-programs-and- services/agriinvest/?id=1291828779399 AgriStability: http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/?id=1291990433266 Advanced Payment Programs: http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/agricultural-programs-and- services/advance-payments-program/?id=1462198969862 Health Links Public Safety Canada - https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/crtcl-nfrstrctr/esf-sfe- en.aspx Public Health Agency of Canada : https://www.canada.ca/en/public- health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/prevention-risks.html
World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a- coronaviruses Ontario Government Online, Self-Testing Tool - COVID-19 Self Assessment : https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/#q0 Health Canada OHS Guidelines - https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social- development/corporate/notices/coronavirus-occupational-health-safety.html Work Safe BC - Construction https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/covid-19-updates/covid-19-industry- information/construction Work Safe BC – Agriculture https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/covid-19-updates/covid-19-industry- information/agriculture Access The Latest Government Updates Canada • Canada Provinces • Newfoundland • Prince Edward Island • New Brunswick • Nova Scotia • Quebec • Ontario • Manitoba • Saskatchewan • Alberta • British Columbia Territories • Nunavut • Northwest Territories • Yukon Downloads:
Handwashing Poster - Public Health Agency of Canada: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/diseases-maladies/reduce- spread-covid-19-wash-your-hands/eng-handwashing.pdf Handwashing Poster #2: https://www.ifallsjournal.com/essentia-health/pdf_7ca6b7be- aa78-5de5-b60b-02f7d03adaaa.html About Coronavirus Fact Sheet - Public Health Agency of Canada : https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/publications/diseases- conditions/about-coronavirus-disease-covid-19/about-coronavirus-disease-covid-19.pdf Association Links: Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA): https://www.cfa-fca.ca/ Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council (CAHRC) : https://cahrc-ccrha.ca/# Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB): https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/en Mental Health Information We want to also remind you that this is a very strange and stressful time where information is changing hour by hour it seems. It is normal to feel anxious and overwhelmed. Please remember to look after your Mental Health as well. Check in with yourself, your co-workers, friends and family to make sure they are doing ok. If you need additional resources please go to https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/mental-health-services/mental-health-get- help.html https://cmha.ca/news/covid-19-and-mental-health
You can also read
